Something was afoot in the Hive—there’d
been a lot of dying and there’s no dark to it but somebody was responsible.
Barmies were being put in the dead-book and the chant was that some of
them were coming back. Somebody needed to look into things and do it fast!
Course, that's about the time that group of bloods called the Azrai showed
up in the Cage.

Ironfist Speaks

The Azrai, like half the rest of the city,
were looking for a barmy named Eliath.
Seems this addled old man had resurfaced after years of hiding out and
a great many high-ups in the factions were looking for him. After searching
the Hive and Lower Ward for several days, they had a run in with a Bleaker
named Derioch Ysarl, who initially accused the Azrai as the berks responsible
for the disappearances. Eventually Derioch agreed to help them look
for Eliath, because after all, if this barmy was as addled as they said,
then he would eventually cross her path at the Asylum.

But unfortunately Eliath’s trail had gone dead, literally. A collector
let em know they had found Eliath dead in the Hive a few days before
and had taken him to the Mortuary. By this point, the Azrai were beginning
to suspect a widespread conspiracy. Just
a few days before, the Azrai had witnessed a local addled bubber nicknamed
the Dancing Man pass away without a mark on him. A few days later, he
had returned to life, completely unharmed, and a new, clean-cut member
of some wussy faction. And he wasn't the only one! To top it off, they
got a hold of some evidence that incriminated Derioch. Seems not only
did she know Eliath, she had treated him in the Asylum recently.

All roads eventually led to the Mortuary, however, since that's where
every deader went, and where every deader came back from. I think the
Azrai cutters invented some lie about looking for their dead uncle,
which at least got them in the door. Once inside, they were eventually
told to talk to Toranna, the Dustmen in charge of assigning what portal
to send a body through. The details of the next events are somewhat
hazy, but I know they suspected Toranna of being up to something. And
rightly so cuz she was one of them Illuminated bastards. They snooped
around, found some incriminating evidence,
and eventually figured that Toranna was sending certain targeted barmies
through a portal to the plane of fire, where she claimed they were cremated.

Course, the barmies, who were never really dead in the first place (they
was just fakin it), was actually sent to some rock fortress on the fiery
plane and reconditioned to believe whatever the Illuminated wanted them
to believe. Then they was sent back to society with as unknown pawns
of the Illuminated and a promise from their deity that they would be
contacted at a later date. So the Azrai did what they do best: they
trashed the place. They also shut down the operation (called the Eternal
Boundary Plan because they crossed over some boundary and came back
or some such nonsense), killed Toranna, gained an enemy in the Illuminated,
and earned themselves a grudge from the Dustmen.

After the destruction, the Azrai continued their search for Eliath,
since they had learned he had been "brought back" as a Doomguard.
After going to the Black Sail, a common Sinker hangout, they found Eliath
and began questioning him. Unfortunately, Eliath seemed very scared
and confused and couldn't get his barmy mind to recall the things the
Azrai needed. Complicating things was the fact that the Illuminated
had tracked both Eliath and the Azrai down, and they did not hesitate
to attack. Derioch and the Shadowknave nearly destroyed the place and
the Azrai in the process. When the smoke cleared, Eliath
was dead, stabbed through the heart and the Azrai
quest for answers seemed suddenly impossible.

But that was before the Azrai really got to know me, and before they
started working for the Zactar. They got their answers now. I'm just
not so sure they're happy with what they've learned. Hey, them's the
breaks berk. And believe me, I'll drink to that.

Looking
for Eliath

You
were searching for Eliath because of a tip from Elminster's scribe
that Eliath knew how to solve the problems occurring in Faerun (i.e.
the appearance of demons, the disappearance of Shadowdale, etc.).
Only later did you realize that Elminster's scribe was none other
than the Knave, who was luring you to Sigil on behalf of the Illuminated.
The rest of the factions were looking for him because there were
rumors that he knew the location of a wondrous artifact hidden within
Sigil.

Conspiracy

The
first crazy that came back to life was the Dancing Man, who you
had seen wandering the streets, completely insane, twitching, and
spouting off the names of Abyssal Lords (which is never a good idea).
After he died, you saw him a few days later, where he claimed his
name was Tylaric Stormwing, new member of the Harmonium. After some
pressure, he admitted that he had indeed died, but that his god
during his youth, Cuthbert, had given him a second chance, resurrecting
him and demanding his allegiance to the Harmonium. Furthermore,
you had learned of a secret organization named the Illuminated that
may have been responsible for some of the disappearances. Derioch
Ysarl, an Illuminated member, had lied to you, since, she had known
and treated Eliath, a former inmate at the Asylum.

Incriminating
Evidence

Within
some of Toranna's things, you not only found a letter from the Green
Marvent congratulating her on her success, you also found a small
ledger that is still in your possession today. The ledger has the
names of 30 or 40 "victims" of the Eternal Boundary Plan,
and in many cases it details where they were assigned to as well.
To see this ledger of names, go here.

Eliath's
Death

Though
Eliath received a seemingly fatal stab wound, he was not, in fact
dead. Something neither you, nor many of those factions searching
him realized. Unfortunately the Illuminated did know he was still
alive (and probably purposely faked his death) and they kept him
in custody for quite a long time before you rescued him from the
spire months later.

The
Quest for Answers

With
Eliath's death, your goals of understanding what was going on in
Faerun seemed lost. However, you soon realized that not only might
the Illuminated understand what was happening, they may even be
partially responsible for some of it. This realization was a turning
point in your adventures, as you began actively searching for and
thwarting the Illuminated in an effort to gain information. This
put you in direct conflict with the likes of Lhar, Derioch Ysarl,
Ygrax, Bel, the Shadowknave, and of course, the Green Marvent. Soon
you realized that what was happening in Faerun was not an isolated
incident and that events throughout the multiverse were quickly
spiraling out of control.